The Place: Ten years ago, Jose Hadad was mashing avocados in his kitchen. Today, he runs two Toronto restaurants (the other is Frida on Eglinton Avenue West), and his Mad Mexican products can be found on store shelves across the GTA. The brand’s new Baby Point headquarters is a restaurant, retail store and commercial kitchen in one. A handful of tables and stools cater to eat-in customers, while refrigerated cases display salsas, dips and guacs. Glass doors give shoppers a peek at the bustling production area, where a team of cooks chops tomatoes and onions to sexy Latin beats.

The Food: The chalkboard menu above the counter lists a handful of tacos, tortas and other traditional Mexican dishes, like sopa de tortilla (tortilla soup) and choriqueso, a sizzling skillet of pan-fried chorizo and bubbling Oaxaca cheese. For dessert, there’s rice pudding spiked with Mexican cinnamon and golden raisins.

The Drinks: Dos Equis and Sol beer are available by the bottle. Non-alcoholic options include fresh-squeezed orange juice and lemonade.